Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and representatives of Da Nang and ministries officially inaugurated the first stage of the Da Nang Information Technology Park (DITP) after one year of construction at a ceremony yesterday.

The DITP, which is the country’s largest centralised information technology centre, is being built in central Viet Nam’s ‘Silicon Valley’ with total investment of $120 million in two stages.

The park, invested and built by Trung Nam Group, will be open to its first investors from the second quarter of 2019 with the aim of creating more opportunities for IT investors flocking to the city by 2023.

It expects to create revenue of $1.5 billion each year with 25,000 jobs and a satellite city of 100,000 people.

“The inauguration of the country’s largest IT park was seen as a positive action for Da Nang’s leadership in preparation for the 4th Industrial Revolution, and creating a magnet to giant investors in IT,” Dam said at the ceremony.

“The city has achieved its dream of opening a hub of innovation that connects IT parks, research institutes and universities nationwide and globally,” he said.

The deputy PM also emphasized the government would support businesses in promoting innovation and technological application in the future.

The park, to the west of the city, is located near Lien Chieu Port and logistics centre, the North-South Expressway and railway system, and hi-tech industrial zones.

Trung Nam Group has started construction of an apartment and office complex for IT businesses on 8.7ha as a prelude to the second stage.

The city also celebrated the technical completion of a link road from the IT park and Da Nang Hi-Tech Park on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of Da Nang’s Liberation Day.

Aerospace facility

Deputy PM Dam also joined a groundbreaking ceremony at Da Nang Sunshine Aerospace under the Universal Alloy Corporation from the US worth US$170 million.

The project covers 1.67ha in the city’s Hi-Tech Park, 20km west of the centre, with two phases of investment from 2019-26.

The first phase is planned for completion in January 2020.

CEO of UAC Jon Kevin Loebbaka said the facilities in Da Nang would export aircraft components to 800 suppliers around the world.

He said the project had received positive support from the city’s government, ministries and Hi-Tech Park management board.

“We chose Da Nang as the destination for our project thanks to the city’s capability and support from the local government, ministries, universities and the park. Other elements come together to make UAC successful in any venture,” he said.

“UAC is a leading global manufacturer of aircraft components for aerospace companies such as Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier and their associated supply chains. This is our first facility in Viet Nam and Asia to serve the global aerospace industry,” he said.

“We’ll operate the facility in Da Nang for decades to come. We had a facility in California that we operated for 50 years, and we’ll look for the next 50 years in Da Nang.”

The project aimed to export aircraft components to North America and Europe worth an estimated $25 million in 2021 and $82 million in 2022, before aiming for more than $180 million of exports on an ongoing annual basis by 2026, according to UAC.

UAC Viet Nam will initially supply fuselage components for Boeing’s 787, 777 and 737 aircraft; and engine elements for Rolls Royce in the Da Nang-based plant for export to North America, the EU and Malaysia.

UAC will machine, surface treat and assemble parts from aluminum extrusions manufactured on the site and imported aluminum plate, employing more than 1,000 employees at the Hi-Tech Park.

In the second phase of investment, UAC’s manufacturing will require highly skilled employees in aerospace as well as local industrial suppliers and logistics with manpower of 2,000 people. — VNS